Bøger af Judit Martin

During the 1990's, the number of large manned weather stations in Sweden was drastically cut from around 200 to less than 20. Judit Martin, weather observer in Zinkgruvan, one of the stations which was closed, realized that it was high time to document a profession which was on its way to disappearing. For her, who once upon a time left sunny California and ended up reporting the weather every three hours in the often harsh weather in faraway Sweden, the step from thought to action is never long. With the help of her rather unreliable car, a camera, and tape recorder, she set out from the forests of the province of Närke on an interviewing journey which took her to observers from Falsterbo in the far south to Naimakka in the far north. The result is this book. As the author herself points out, this is not a book about observing the weather, but rather, it is about the lives of the people who observed it, and about a Sweden in the midst of rapid changes. Hopefully the day is still far away when we have to sum up for good the job the corps of observers has carried out. When a meteorologist himself can choose, he still chooses observations carried out by well-educated and motivated observers over those done by a never so well-equipped automatic station. When an observer studies the weather he also performs, with the help of his sight and brain, a qualified form of distance analysis which probably even the most sophisticated future high technology will have difficulty surpassing. (Haldo Vedin, Meteorologist) Judit Martin was born in America, but has lived in rural Sweden since 1969. As a single mother, she raised her two daughters while teaching English and working as a weather observer for the Swedish weather bureau [SMHI]. When human observers were replaced by automated weather stations, she immortalized the people who had had that unusual occupation in a book published by the weather bureau that is the basis for this book. She has written two documentary books in Swedish as well as two historical novels, "Augusta's Daughter" and "Kajsa", depicting 19th century peasant life in Sweden, and also a number of short stories published as "Seventeen Stories". Her photo book, "Swedish Medieval Church Painting" was recently published by Terrestrius Press Ltd.

Excerpt: "Presently the evenness of his breathing told her he was asleep. For a long time she lay on her back just as he had left her, mulling over her situation. In those brief minutes everything had supposedly righted itself. She had officially left her girlhood behind forever and become a woman. The days of wearing her hair down her back in a long braid were gone, although she was not yet entitled to wear a married woman's kerchief. Nor did she any longer belong to the group of young housemaids who had been her friends, nor to a group of married women whom she hardly knew. All at once she felt very alone, not knowing what was expected of her. The only thing she knew for sure was that her life had taken a false turn, and she didn't know how to set it right again." ========================= Nineteenth century Swedish peasant life was not always the dance around the Midsummer pole portrayed by the artists of the time. Those same peasants lived daily lives in the shadow of the all-powerful village church, controlled by the countless rules, customs, and traditions that governed every aspect of their existence, leaving no room for individual deviations. When it became known that Augusta Torsdotter's daughter Elsa-Carolina was illegitimate, the course of both of their lives irrevokably changed. As an adult, Elsa-Carolina immigrated to America, turning her back on the past. It wasn't until three-quarters of a century later, at the age of 94, that she returned to Sweden, to come to terms with her girlhood. "The harshness of Swedish peasant life and landscape is beautifully chronicled in Judit Martin's novel. Her knowledge of the culture, customs, work, superstitions, and attitudes of the day opens up that world for those of us seeking to know our Swedish ancestors." -Joan Morrison Granddaughter of Swedish immigrants Charleston, Maine ===================== "Wonderful and evocative! A captivating and enlightening read!" -Mr. Jan Smedh Bookseller The English Bookshop Upsala & Stockholm, Sweden This book is intended for mature audiences.

Judit Martin, originally from the American Midwest, has been living in rural Sweden since 1969. She has published several short stories in Scottish literary magazines, two books in Swedish, and one novel in English. These five short stories are historical fiction inspired by the lives of people Martin has known or known about. They depict life from a different era and the hardships that people of that time dealt with in day to day life. The stories take place in the nineteenth or early twentieth century. Samuel tells the story of a tailor's son who marries a woman considered by her peers to be a "whore" due to her illegitimate daughter. Alulf tells of a Swedish immigrant living in America who creates a fictional and successful life for himself through photographs he takes. Hilda describes the life of a seven-year-old girl sent to be a maid for her elderly aunt and uncle. The struggles that a woman must face when her father dies and thus leaves the control of his estate in the hands of a cruel squire are shown in Elin and Teo, and Tora describes the hardships that a young country girl endures when she is sent to town for boarding school. Judit Martin's stories show the primitive and sometimes inhumane conditions that the poor endured, simply because it was the way life had always been. The collection is beautifully written and eye-opening, and a very worthy read. For Mature Audiences

"Kajsa" is the free-standing sequel to "Augusta's Daughter," depicting peasant life in late-nineteenth century Sweden. It is the story of fifteen-year-old Elsa-Carolina's illegitimate daughter Kajsa, who was placed in a foster family immediately after birth. From there, at the age of eight, she was cast out into the world on her own. With the help of the women she met along the way, she survived and eventually gained control over her life. Her situation was by no means unique. Sweden has changed greatly since the nineteenth century, albeit in a different direction than America. In order to understand present-day Sweden, it is necessary to be aware of the past on which it is built. Kajsa's life reflects a tiny aspect of that past.